INFOMAR Bathymetry
The term bathymetry refers to the depth of the ocean relative to sea level. It can also be used to describe the submarine topography or underwater terrain. INFOMAR bathymetry data is measured by multibeam echosounders (MBES). MBES transducers transmit multiple high frequency pulses of sound in a fan shape beneath the vessel, enabling a large swath of seabed to be mapped at high resolution as the vessel moves along. The time taken for the sound to travel through the water and be reflected from the seabed back to the ship is used to calculate the water depth. Sound velocity profiles are taken to calibrate systems as data acquisition is ongoing. The primary purpose of the bathymetric datasets acquired are to update the UKHO Admiralty Chart data. These charts provide all seagoers with up-to-date charts for safe navigation. The data are also used by marine spatial planners, ORE industry and can be used to predict marine habitats.
Data is available as a 32 point floating singleband geotiff. There are three different geotiffs of different resolutions available to download; 10m, 25m and 100m.
Data and resources
Additional information
| Temporal extent | 1999-01-01 – ongoing |
|---|---|
| Date (publication) | 2017-11-09 |
| Date (creation) | 2017-11-09 |
| Date (revision) | 2024-07-22 |
| Status | onGoing |
| Update frequency | asNeeded |
| Metadata language | en |
| License | While every effort is made in preparing the dataset no responsibility is accepted by or on behalf of the Marine Institute for any errors, omissions or misleading information. The Marine Institute accepts no responsibility for loss or damage occasioned or claimed to have been occasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting, or refraining from acting as a result of a matter contained in this datasets or as a consequence of using this dataset for any purpose whatsoever. |
| Source metadata | ISO 19115 XML |
| Last updated | 2026-11-04 |
| Created | 2026-11-04 |
| API | package_show |